


The Calm Before the Storm

by EldritchSandwich



Category: Tomb Raider (Video Game)
Genre: Casual Sex, F/F, Introspection, Reboot, Sexy Sandwich, rise of the tomb raider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-02
Updated: 2016-02-02
Packaged: 2018-05-17 21:56:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5886802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EldritchSandwich/pseuds/EldritchSandwich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"Everyone deserves to rest. Even the great Lara Croft."</em>
</p>
<p>Set during Rise of the Tomb Raider, before Lara leaves to recover the Atlas; Sofia gives Lara more than just a wire spool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Calm Before the Storm

Lara Croft lives her life by a very simple rule: keep moving forward.

It's what let her survive Yamatai, scratched and septic and bleeding internally, and it's what's let her survive Siberia so far. You focus your attention on the immediate goal, and you move. If you have to crawl, you crawl, if you have to drag yourself, you drag yourself, but you don't stop moving. Right now, the immediate goal is to get to the Atlas, and Lara Croft is itching to move forward.

Instead, she's letting Sofia's gentle but uncompromising grip on her wrist drag her backward, down to the village and into a cramped, cluttered little house. She protests, weakly, but Jacob's fiery daughter just shakes her head.

"There's a storm coming. If you wait, you can use the rain to cover your approach." She looks back as she closes the door, fixing Lara with a fond smirk. "Besides, everyone deserves to rest. Even the great Lara Croft."

Lara sighs, shaking her head even as she sinks down onto a wooden chair against the far wall. Every muscle in her body aches as she does, and she realizes she can't remember the last time she sat in a chair. "I don't need to rest. I need to get this done."

Sofia laughs, a dismissive snort that calls to mind the distrustful young woman who promised to kill her the first time they met. "And if you fall off the side of a cliff because you're too tired and weak to keep your grip? The nights here are long. You need to learn patience."

"I know how to be patient," Lara lies. The closest she comes to knowing that is waiting for the perfect moment to strike, lining up a headshot or maneuvering into the right position to put an axe through the back of a man's neck. She thinks again, only for a moment, about how troublingly easy that is for her, then pushes it aside; she has enough problems without rehashing that one.

Lara's so preoccupied trying not to do so that she doesn't even realize Sofia's moving until the redhead's hands touch her knees, pushing her legs apart so she can kneel between them. She's taken off her gear and her armor and her tunic to reveal a pale, toned torso covered by some kind of white shift; Lara doesn't know enough about Byzantine undergarments to say what it is exactly, but it's sleeveless and threadbare enough to show the shape of the girl's firm body.

Sofia's holding a clay jar full of some putrid green cream, and true to form she doesn't ask permission before she starts rubbing it into the cuts and scrapes on Lara's hands. She didn't realize how many of those there were until Sofia starts touching them, but it hardly matters because each one suddenly feels _fucking amazing_ , warm and tingling as the heat from Sofia's fingers melts the salve into them, the scent of fresh pine filling the room. Lara lets out a sigh, this time a pleasant one, and Sofia chuckles.

"What is that stuff?"

"Our people have had centuries to learn the secrets of these lands. You'll find we're full of surprises."

Lara sighs again and lets her eyes slip shut, not resisting when Sofia undoes her coat and tugs off her scarf.

"Would you like to try something else?" Sofia murmurs, and the closeness of the voice combined with the sudden presence of those hot hands under the waist of her shirt makes Lara's eyes snap right back open. Sofia's face is in front of hers, so close, an impish smile on her chapped lips.

Lara licks her own lips purely on reflex, not even considering that as close as they are her tongue comes within a hair's breadth of Sofia's. "What, um...what are you doing?"

Sofia grins as she leans even closer, hands warm and rough on Lara's waist and eyes never leaving the brunette's. "It's our tradition before battle. Men with men, women with women, to concentrate the body's energy." Sofia shifts, and Lara's academic curiosity about a nominally and Medievally Christian population having such a custom is blown away by awareness of the firm breasts and long, hard nipples pressing against her through the redhead's thin undershirt. "Is this new to you?"

Lara clears her throat. She can't tell whether she's blushing. She never can. "No! I mean, yes, but...I mean, I had this friend, and..." She sighs against Sofia's lips. "It's been a long time," she mutters.

Sofia's grin widens. "Long enough?"

Lara's shoulders collapse as the redhead leans in. "Long enough."

It sounds crazy, but the thing Lara can't help noticing is how clean Sofia's mouth tastes. Granted, it has been a while since she's kissed anyone, but she distinctly remembers that out in the civilized world people's mouths _taste_ like things: like alcohol, like breath mints, like lip balm. But Sofia's mouth doesn't taste like anything besides Sofia, and that's more than enough. She sucks in a breath from the redhead's mouth, and that just urges her closer, the hands on her waist circling around to her back, then up.

Lara's own hands rise, up Sofia's bare arms to her neck, and her reward is Sofia's gentle sucking on her bottom lip. The redhead's palms keep moving, higher up her back and dragging her shirt with them. When they reach her shoulder blades Lara's grateful she wore a sport bra; but then the brief moment of amusement at the idea of Sofia trying to match wits with modern bra hooks is once again blown from her head, this time by the fact that Sofia's hands are sliding forward. Lara's breath hitches as suddenly those hands are cupping her breasts, squeezing gently until Lara's hips buck weakly in response. Sofia chuckles into her mouth and presses closer, hands so hot and confident on Lara's long-neglected skin.

"You're strong, Lara," Sofia rumbles into her mouth, and that simple statement of fact just makes her want the redhead more. When Sofia pulls back Lara's surprised that she leans forward to extend the kiss, only to be stymied by Sofia's hands pushing back on her chest. Lara's confused for a moment before those hands slide out of her shirt and grab the hem of Sofia's own, pulling it up to reveal the pale, pert cones of her breasts. Lara's hands take over without her direction, just like they do when she's climbing, sliding up Sofia's waist, her back, pulling her closer. Sofia hisses as Lara's lips touch her chest, and Lara hums against the soft, tight, hot skin; her brain is officially off duty now, and her body is taking over.

Sofia's hands are back on her now, one anchored on the back of her neck to encourage Lara's exploration of her breasts while the other slips under the waist of her shirt again. But this time instead of going up it goes down, and Lara bucks in place as Sofia's strong fingers push under her belt, her cords, her underwear...she can feel them teasing her, and she groans around Sofia's flesh, hips rolling as the pads of Sofia's fingers start to stroke. When they slip inside her, Lara moans.

Lara doesn't know how long they're like that. It's not very long, it can't be, but the things Sofia's doing to her feel so good that she's lost all sense of time. She can feel it coming, the tension in her belly and her back and her straining leg muscles, and Sofia must be able to sense it too because her fingers just move faster. The grip on Lara's neck lets her tip the brunette's head back. Their eyes meet, and Lara breaks.

Sofia holds her until her hips stop moving. Lara's breathing is heavy, the pinprick of sudden pleasure giving way to a lazy warmth that does more to fight the cold that's been encroaching on her here than any campfire. Her vision's blurred and her mind is sluggish, but whether that's because of what Sofia's done to her or how right she was about needing to rest Lara doesn't know.

Sofia kisses her softly on the lips, then stands. Lara's eyes are drawn down to the redhead's fingers, slick and shiny before she wipes them on her leg. "It's raining." Lara blinks. As her senses start to come back to her she notices that yes, she can hear droplets tapping on the thin roof. Sofia smiles wistfully. "You had better be going."

Lara stands slowly. Her body still aches, but it's a different ache now, a better ache if that makes any sense. At least her hands feel better. "Right. I...thank you, Sofia."

Sofia smirks. "I'm sure I didn't do anything for you you wouldn't have done for me."

Lara imagines she must be blushing as she pulls her coat back on, then all her gear, feeling absurd as Sofia just stands there, half-naked and utterly at peace with herself. Lara's eyes flick up and down that strong body again, and she clears her throat. "Do your people have any rituals for...after battle?"

Sofia's smirk broadens. "Well, you'll just have to come out of all this alive and find out, won't you?" she mutters archly. Lara chuckles as she heads for the door.

The immediate goal is to get to the Atlas. But having an end goal in mind, well...that's an important part of moving forward too.


End file.
